Impasse
by Janika
Summary: Ok, so Janika's part of the team, but when XANA tapped into her computer before, he caught hold of a couple programs that would give him a definite edge and he has no qualms about using them... 2nd episode
1. Combat

**_Post-production note: since I hadn't seen anything but season 1 by the time I started writing, some things may seem a little off. Don't complain b/c I took artistic license._**

**2-1: Combat**

**It all started when Sissy's cousin came to Kadic and sneaked onto Jeremy's computer to get some stuff to sell online. Before she knew it, Janika had created her own Lyoko-identity and was fighting beside our heroes. Unfortunately, X.A.N.A. isn't as dumb as she took him for...**

**Janika is really living up to her name. It means 'Enigma'. If you readers out there enjoy her I'll keep writing, but you have to tell me because if you don't Janika will vanish forever. And don't forget to send in your ideas regarding possible future episodes. I can't do it all on my own!**

(((-1-)))

Janika peeked around the boulder, checking in every direction. She didn't trust the silence. They were out there somewhere, but the trees revealed nothing to her. Suddenly her instincts screamed and she ducked just as a missile blasted into the rock. The digital image wavered, then reformed.

The girl dove behind a tree trunk as more shots were fired. One clipped her on the side and she doubled over. Gasping for air, Janika got ready to sprint. Her rival had revealed his hiding place. Every muscle was stretched taut and she would have been sweating if she had been able to. Lyoko was very dry in some areas.

No further shots came, but her sensitive catlike ears picked up her opponent's steps. Her breaths quieted and slowed. She was ready. A ninja star appeared in her hand like black lightning.

With a great burst of speed, the cheetah-girl soared out from behind the tree, casting her own missile straight at the creature. But as she ran, a new weapon appeared on the scene. A whirring disk of light slammed into her and she struck the ground heavily. Janika was struggling to her knees when the tip of a sword pressed against her throat. She glared at her attacker.

"You're out," Ulrich said between clenched teeth.

Janika couldn't keep a straight face and burst out laughing. The samurai relaxed and sheathed his sword while Yumi came out of hiding. Odd approached holding out her throwing star and rubbing his arm.

"You guys are hard to beat."

"We _should_ be," Yumi chuckled. "You may be speedy, but teamwork is what really counts."

Odd nodded. "We formed a triangle around you so that no matter who you attacked, the others could nail you from two directions at once. Unfortunately you went after me."

She smiled apologetically as she stood up. "I hope my idea to play this game helps us. I really need to master my techniques, as you can see."

"You're getting better, but we never really played games here," Ulrich said. "We only came when we needed to."

Janika looked at them. "I'm probably pretty low on life points. Jeremy?"

Before the mega-computer's operator could speak Ulrich slammed into her yelling, "Look out!"

As she fell to the ground with Ulrich on top of her, a beam of red energy blasted the spot she'd been standing a split-second earlier. Yumi's fan and Odd's Laser Arrow flew toward the source and there was an explosion.

Jeremy's voice came over. "Guys, what just happened? There was nothing on my sensors."

"It was a Rochster," Ulrich panted. He seemed shaken. "At least I _think_ it was."

Yumi folded her fan and looked at Odd. "I didn't get a good look at it, but..."

"Yeah, I think so too," he agreed.

"What?" Janika wondered.

"Later. Let's get back home."

The dark-haired girl stood there as they wandered back toward the Tower nearby. "What is it? Hey! I want to know!"

(V)

"I win," Aelita said. "Janika lasted longer than five minutes this time."

Jeremy smiled. "Yeah sure. I guess I owe you an ice cream Sunday next time you feel like coming to our world."

"She is getting better. Is that the purpose of these 'games'? To improve?"

"Yes, and no. Janika wants to get better, but she also wants to have fun."

"I don't quite understand how being attacked by comrades constitutes as 'fun'."

Jeremy wasn't sure how to reply to that. "She's trying to test her skills on Lyoko against theirs."

"But she always loses. If she knows she will lose, why does she test herself?"

The blonde boy sighed hopelessly.


	2. Spying

**2-2: Spying**

**This one is placing emphasis on my romantic side, and as you can see I don't have much of one. You can tell which character I like, though! Sort of, anyway. I'll save the truth for a later story (if there is one).**

(((-2-)))

Janika tapped her pencil on the blanks of her math homework. Then she sharpened the end. Then she doodled a cheetah on the back side. Then she sharpened her pencil again. It was easy. She could get it done later.

"I am going to hate myself for the rest of my life if I do this," she moaned. "But if I don't then I'll never get over it. _Grrrrr!_ What should I do?"

Finally she closed her book and left the room. She knew she was going to bitterly regret this.

Odd answered the door as she knocked. "Yeah, Janika?"

"Er...is Ulrich there?" she murmured.

He gave her a funny look before nodding. "Sure."

The door opened wider and Janika saw the dark-haired boy sitting at a desk with headphones on. He took them off as soon as he saw her. "Yes?"

"Could I...possibly, you know..." She groped for something to say that wouldn't sound like she was desperate. "I need to talk to you."

"Uh, sure. Come on in."

She shook her head. "Could you take a walk with me?"

Odd rolled his eyes. "Just go, Ulrich. You don't have anything else to do."

They went walking outside. The sun was ready to set and the silence between them was deafening. Ulrich seemed nervous for some reason. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Um...Lyoko." Yeah, that's it. Stall for time. Beat around the bush for as long as possible. "I know you guys have explained it to me, but I still don't understand its purpose."

"Join the club," he chortled. "I think Jeremy and Aelita are the only ones who could tell you that. All I know is that someone created it, then shut it down, and we were the next ones to find it. We have no idea who or why. As long as the machine is on, X.A.N.A. is a threat...but we can't just abandon Aelita. She's our friend." They had reached the edge of the campus and Ulrich stopped. "Just tell me. What did you really want to talk about?"

Great. He had forced her into a corner. "Er...today in Lyoko...you pushed me out of the way. I just...wanted to know why."

Ulrich's brow creased. "Janika, you were in trouble. I reacted."

She looked down at her feet. "So...you didn't..." She _couldn't_ finish it. What if he laughed or started avoiding her? But surely he knew! Quickly she thought of something else to say. "So you didn't want to go eat?"

"Eat?"

"Yeah, hotdogs. I think there's still a place open. I never ate dinner."

He smiled. "You should have asked Odd. He would have leaped at any chance to eat. His stomach is like an empty pit."

"Odd?" Now why would he say that?

They left campus chatting quietly, unaware that a pair of jealous brown eyes were watching from the shadows. Sissy stalked them noiselessly, steam hissing out her ears.

"How _dare_ she! _I'm _her cousin, _I'm _prettier, _I'm _the most popular girl at school, _I'm _the one with the power! And he picks _her?_" Sissy's knuckles cracked and she ground her teeth together. "What are they talking about, anyway?"

Now they were sitting down on a bench outside the restaurant. She crept closer through the bushes and heard Janika speaking. "...and of course I didn't know what to do. I sent letters to all my relatives, but I don't have many. I'm really lucky my uncle decided to take me in. If he hadn't, I don't know where I'd be right now. Probably some boarding school in China or something."

"So you've had it rough?"

"Nah, not compared to you and your friends. At least I wasn't being pursued by some evil computer that had a grudge against me. If it wasn't for you guys the world might lay in ruins right now."

Sissy rolled her eyes. She'd read Ulrich's journal once, but the stuff was so far-out that she had laughed most of it off. If it hadn't been for those darn entries about how much he cared for Yumi she would have ignored the whole thing. She _had_ to get between them!

But it looked like someone had already wormed there instead. Now Sissy had a new enemy. If it was possible for Janika to get to Ulrich, then there must be hope for herself! All she needed was something to coax him away. Something dire and cataclysmic. He had never rescued her from anything. Maybe if she pretended to be a maiden in distress, her knight in shining armor would sweep her away and be hers forever! Little hearts floated around her like balloons.

The balloons popped as she heard Janika talking again. Sissy was going to _kill_ that little witch!

"What was it you guys saw today? The thing that fired at me. No one ever did bother to explain."

Ulrich sighed. "I don't know. It was invisible to Jeremy and I only caught a glance, but I'm pretty sure it's some new trick of X.A.N.A.'s. All I really saw were the spikes on its back." Sissy wished she knew what they were talking about. He stopped and looked at his 'date'. "Uh, Janika?"

"Yes?" she asked almost too softly to hear.

"Why are you leaning on me?"

"Oh, sorry." But she only sounded sorry that she had to move. Not that she moved very far. Sissy bit her lip and wrung her hands together to keep from yanking her cousin off the bench.

**Yes, yes I know, Sissy doesn't play much of a part. But in all honesty she doesn't do much in the TV show except scream and create comic relief.**


	3. Familiar

**2-3: Familiar**

**Here is where it starts getting interesting!**

(((-3-)))

Janika appeared in the desert and fell to the ground. Odd virtualized beside her. She flexed her hands and took out a star. It was Yumi's turn to be the hunted so she'd already gone ahead. Too bad Ulrich had to stay behind at school. Jeremy had checked the area to make sure it was safe, but he still remained edgy from the day before.

"You guys be careful."

Odd and Janika saw a collection of boulders farther west and headed that way. Yumi could be hiding anywhere in them. Odd caught sight of a figure taking cover a couple hundred yards to their left. He motioned to his partner what he had seen and they slowly crept closer, keeping to the shadows.

She didn't know the fan was there until it smacked into her back, then she was seeing birdies. She fell to the ground in pain. "You said she was over _there!_" she accused.

Odd started to shrug, then stopped. His face went blank and he froze. Yumi was beside them in a moment, the hunt over. "He sees the future."

"Huh?" She hadn't heard about this.

He blinked and looked up at Yumi. "Get down!" he shouted, tackling her. "It'll see you! It was shooting lasers at us. Jeremy, can't you see it on your sensors?"

"What should I be seeing?"

"It looks like a big rat covered with spikes and—Janika? What's wrong?"

She grabbed him and pulled him closer, her voice a dangerous whisper. "_What did you just say!_"

"A rat—" He was cut off by her snarl as she tossed him aside like a rag doll.

Rage and fury filled her until she felt she would rupture. With a half-wild cry, Janika sprang to her feet, bounding over the boulders toward the creature's hiding place. The strange new enemy came out to meet her, baring its teeth.

It seemed to be a rat made from rusty metal, but there was nothing coarse in its actions. The thing moved with agility as it vaulted to the ground and looked straight at its adversary. The cheetah-girl covered yards in leaps, getting closer every second.

The rat's mouth opened and it shot a lance of light directly at Janika. It hit her on the arm, but she didn't even slow when Jeremy warned her about her life points. A barrage of bolts continued to rain down, but she flung a star at it just before she vanished. The creature gave a squeal as the weapon struck the symbol on its forehead and caused it to explode.

The two friends looked at each other in confusion. "Did you understand that at all?"

Yumi shook her head. "She just went crazy."

(V)

"Janika?" Odd called as he got out of the scanner. The room was empty except for him and Yumi. "Where is she?"

"Maybe she went up to talk to Jeremy." The lift was in use.

But Jeremy was just as confused as they were. "I saw her disappear, then I devirtualized you two. I thought she'd be there when you got out."

"Call her cell phone."

"She doesn't have one, Yumi. She told me herself that she hates those things."

Just then Ulrich called. "Hey Jeremy, do you know why Janika is running toward the dorms? She didn't even look my way when I called to her. I figured something might be wrong at the factory."

Jeremy's brows furrowed. "So she went back to school. She got devirtualized by another one of those weird rat-like things that I can't see."

"I guess we won't be practicing today if something's up then, huh?"

He nodded. "You're right. It's too dangerous to do anything on Lyoko until we figure out more about X.A.N.A.'s new henchbots."

The three friends left the factory and went straight to the dorms. Jeremy had just turned on his computer when someone knocked on his door. Janika was there. He posed the question to her. "You vanished without telling us where you were going earlier. Why?"

"I had to find out something, and I'm afraid I was right." She held out her laptop. "Look."

Silently Jeremy set her laptop on his desk and opened it. On the screen was a skillful digital drawing of a rat covered with spines. Text boxes describing certain features and other things surrounded it.

He stared at the image for a few minutes. "This is the thing that attacked you."

"It's a Ratt. I've had that in my computer for months. I was trying to design a game at the time, but I got distracted and forgot about it. There are a couple other creatures I created too, but this was the only one I _really_ worked on."

"So what are you saying?"

"That's not all." Janika minimized the picture and opened a smaller link. A program describing a force field that repelled tracking popped up. "This is something I got from the internet. You know how it is in most video games where you walk around a screen and don't see any enemies, and then you get attacked by monsters? Well, this is the simplest program for hiding them."

**Oh no! What will happen next? Stay tuned for the next chapter: Janika's Rejection and Ultimate Death.**


	4. An Attempt

**2-4: An Attempt**

**What would you do if someone you trusted ended up doing this?**

(((-4-)))

Jeremy turned to her. "Are you saying that X.A.N.A.'s new tricks came from _your_ computer?"

She swallowed and bit her lip before nodding. "Yes."

He snapped the laptop closed and shoved it at her, glaring. "Thanks a lot, Janika."

"Look, I didn't know he could do that!"

"You know, it really is ironic. You stole from me and X.A.N.A. stole from you." He turned on his phone. "X.A.N.A. doesn't forget, Janika. Once he learns something, he can't unlearn it without someone actively deleting those files. We try, but all we can do is erase what he's _done_."

"I understand," she said weakly.

Jeremy shook his head and started dialing a number.

"Look, I know what you're thinking, but it's not like that! I feel so stupid. If there's _anything_ I can do to help I'll do it in a heartbeat."

"You've helped quite enough."

"Please let me! I can make a virus to destroy them."

The blonde boy snapped the cell phone closed and faced her. "Don't you think I've thought of that before to deal with X.A.N.A.? Lyoko breaks all the rules, Janika. Why do you think we need Aelita to deactivate the Towers? I could try from my console, but I would probably mess it up worse and I'm not willing to take that risk."

She looked at him helplessly. "What can I do?"

"Just go back to your room. We'll contact you."

Janika did as she was told. She felt so guilty. It was all her fault and she didn't know how to stop it! Staring desolately at her computer, she remembered the strange look in the Ratt's eyes as she had raced toward it. Jeremy had made it perfectly clear that a virus downloaded into Lyoko might have disastrous effects. There _had_ to be a way around it.

An idea occurred to her. She thought for a few minutes before deciding it might work. The teenager began typing busily away, hoping X.A.N.A. didn't strike before she finished. But then why would he show off the Ratts if he wasn't ready to attack?

She had to hurry. She would only get one shot at this, and if she was wrong...

(V)

The gaseous substance wafted out of a short-circuited socket and swept toward a telephone on the wall. The silky smooth specter caressed the handle before absorbing itself into the device, ready to wreak havoc in a new way. The wires came to life under its touch, writhing this way and that as it prompted them to. This would be its moment of triumph and nothing would ever stand in its way again!

(V)

The next morning she was too hungry to continue working on the program anymore, so she took a break. One problem was fixed, but the other was confusing. Something just wasn't right with it. She needed a virus she could use from _inside_ Lyoko, but what sort of virus would affect _only_ the Ratts without backfiring on her?

Unfortunately, Jeremy had told the others about the Ratts. She had hoped he would keep it between them. Yumi glared as she approached them in the cafeteria. "Well, look who it is. What's wrong, Janika? Don't have any other friends to betray?"

Ulrich elbowed her. "Cut it out, Yumi. She didn't do it on purpose."

"No, I guess she didn't. She just stole from Jeremy by accident, then someone forced her to take a joyride in Lyoko, and finally she gave everything on her laptop to our worst enemy during a completely random attack that just happened to come at the same time that she was gallivanting about where she didn't belong!"

With downcast eyes, she left. She had to keep working on that thing anyway. It wasn't like she was starving. Janika saw a payphone just outside the lunchroom and took out a coin. She should probably call her mom.

The teenager picked up the receiver and put her change in the slot. The dial tone buzzed strangely, but she ignored it and pressed in the number for her mother's cell.

The phone dialed, then kept on dialing. The beeping got louder and louder until Janika had to hold it away from her ear. What was going on? Abruptly sparks started flying from the handle! She tried to let it go, but her hand seemed to stick like glue to the metal. Electricity coursed through her limbs, making them twitch sporadically.

How could so much pain be contained within one body?! Janika wished she could scream, but her voice was locked in her throat and she felt as though something had taken control of her.

_Help!_ she screamed silently. _Help me!_

**Well, the truth has come out. It's all her fault and now everybody hates my lovely alter-ego. She doesn't know what to do and she feels so guilty. And now she's about to die a horrible death.**


	5. The Solution

**2-5: The Solution**

**BAM! Getting electrocuted has GOT to hurt, but since I've never experienced it, it's a bit hard for me to describe. So for those of you who _have _been electrocuted, bear with me.**

(((-5-)))

Janika didn't realize she was lying on the ground until she it registered in her brain that the constant pain had lessened. Someone was on top of her. She looked up at Ulrich and swallowed. Nearby, the phone booth continued to send up fireworks.

"I had to knock you away from it," he said, his cheeks turning a pale rose.

Odd, Yumi, and Jeremy came running up. "What happened?"

"The phone went haywire while she was dialing," Ulrich explained. "I think she got electrocuted."

"Is she okay?" Odd asked.

Her stomach churned and sloshed around, threatening to heave up everything she'd ever eaten in her life. Janika moaned and curled up, trying not to move too much. "Ooooohhh...I'm gonna be sick..."

"I'll go check with Aelita to see about any activated Towers," Jeremy volunteered. "I'm afraid that's what this may mean. Someone had better take her to the infirmary."

Jeremy took Yumi with him and the two other boys managed to carry Janika to Nurse Dorothy. Her hair kept frizzing up and her braid looked singed. Once they got her there, Ulrich left to catch up with the others at the factory. Apparently their concerns were real.

"She won't be ready to leave anytime soon, Odd. You might as well get to class. The bell will ring in less than ten minutes." The nurse took out a cold compress.

"No, I'll stay."

She smiled down at him. "You're such a good friend. Here, put this on her forehead. I need to go get some bandages. Her hand looks badly burned."

Nurse Dorothy went into the adjoining room and Janika groaned. She clenched her teeth and sat up.

"What are you doing? Nurse Dorothy said to stay here."

"I can't," she gasped. "The Ratts are my fault. I have to fix my mistake." Her eyes snapped wide open and she seemed to experience a revelation. "Not a virus! I can delete them through the nullification of data processors by tapping into their internal electronic brains with contrary compatibilities. It's so simple!"

Odd stared at her. "Janika, you sound exactly like Jeremy."

"I already have all the information I need in my computer. It was there all along! I have the original Ratt design. All I need to do is run a status-reversal check on it and I have practically everything done. Come on, Odd!"

Nurse Dorothy came back in a moment later and found the room empty.

They stopped by Janika's room for her laptop and then headed toward the factory using the long route due to her condition. The whole time she continued to prattle on about details involving the program to destroy the Ratts. They didn't get very far before X.A.N.A.'s madness inflicted upon the public grew clear.

Cars had crashed while people ran pell-mell all over the street, trying to dodge the twisting telephone lines that seemed to have taken on a life of their own. They had exploded from the ground and whipped from side to side like beheaded snakes in their death throes, sparks raining down upon the crazed people.

"We have to go through _that?!_" Odd yelled over the noise of honking cars and wailing voices.

Janika nodded. "I can't climb up or down any ladders or ride my skateboard, so the sewer is definitely out. It's our only choice!"

With a grimace, he looped her arm around his shoulders and ran into the jostling mob. They were shoved repeatedly so that the teenage girl felt herself getting sick again, but they made it through with only a few bruises to show for it.

Odd was just breathing a sigh of relief when he saw a tangled mess of telephone lines thrashing and jerking between them and the factory. The wires seemed to sense someone watching them and, with a twitch, all of them lunged toward the two kids!

(V)

"Aelita?" Yumi called. Ulrich scanned the Desert's horizon for her, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Jeremy's voice came over. "She's coming straight at you two from the southwest."

"We see her now."

Indeed, Aelita was running full speed and two Krabs were right on her tail.

"Let's go!" Ulrich shouted as he drew his blade.


	6. Connection

**2-6: Connection**

**Look out! _Zzzzt!_**

(((-6-)))

The sparking telephone lines weaved toward the two friends, lashing out with their whiplike ends. Odd thought fast and slung Janika over his shoulder. They ran away from the possessed wires, screaming the whole way. The dark-haired girl was glad she'd put her laptop in a backpack or else it would have busted as she was bounced into the trees off to one side.

"You can stop now!" she choked, wondering if she was going to hurl.

Odd put her down, breathing hard. "How (puff) are we going (wheeze) to get in-(cough)-side?" He looked at the water surrounding the factory.

"Forget it. Water conducts electricity. We'd be fried before we got halfway across."

"Well then what do you propose?"

Janika stared hard at the bridge. "You ever been rock climbing? I'm sure there are plenty of handholds under that thing."

"You can't be serious!"

She turned to him angrily. "Do you have a better idea? We are _this_ close to becoming charcoal and _you're_ afraid of heights!"

The teenager got down close to the water and edged along, out of sight of the strange whipping telephone lines, until she was near enough to climb up the cement wall to reach the underside. She nearly yelped as her burned hand supported her weight, but she gritted her teeth and pulled herself up, though weakly.

Odd followed a bit easier, but he noticed her wince as she painstakingly crawled upside-down along the bars running the length of the bridge. He wondered how long she could keep it up. Her blood was making the bars slick.

And what was happening to Yumi and Ulrich?

(V)

The Krab's laser shot out and narrowly missed Yumi. She sent her fan in an arc to hinder it, but its form was surprisingly agile for such a huge creature. Aelita pointed out the Tower and began to run toward it, but the other Krab that had been occupying Ulrich noticed.

Her path was blocked by an onslaught of red beams that broke the terrain's image for a split second. She turned and gasped, falling back before the monster. Its 'eyes' glowed as it prepared to fire, but then a voice broke through the turmoil: "Impact!"

Ulrich backflipped up onto the Krab's shell and drove his sword into the symbol on its head. He leaped clear as it staggered once and imploded. He helped Aelita to her feet and then joined Yumi, down to 20 lifepoints, with her enemy.

The digital girl began running toward the red-rimmed Tower again, but slowed as she heard a strange sound off to her left in a pile of rocks. Skittering, squeakish sounds; _many_ of them. Several pairs of glowing eyes peered out of the shadows, glaring evilly at her.

(V)

"Take my laptop to Jeremy and tell him to upload the program called 'DeVisual' into his computer. That should fix his holograph's detection agent, and also tell him to download the program 'ReverseRatt' directly into my character as I'm being scanned."

Odd shook his head. "You don't know what you're doing. How are you supposed to fight with one hand? Your _left_ hand?"

"I don't have to. Not as long as Aelita reaches the Tower all right. I just need to make sure there is at least one Ratt there. I hope she doesn't enter the code before I reach it, though." She made some final calculations as the lift took them down to the lab. It stopped and Janika pushed her computer into his hands. "Go. I _need_ to do this. Trust me."

Reluctantly Odd stepped out of the elevator and walked over to Jeremy. The blonde boy looked up, his face etched with worry. "They aren't doing so well. I can't see anything and they could be fighting three monsters right now by the look of their lifepoints."

"Here. Janika said to upload 'DeVisual' into your computer, and something called 'ReverseRatt' into her."

"Did you say 'DeVisual'? She must have created a program to beat X.A.N.A.'s!"

Jeremy looked exultant as he connected the computer and quickly uploaded the program. Suddenly figures appeared on his holograph screen. One was a Krab and three others were Ratts.

"Guys, one more hit and the Krab is out. There are three of those Ratts lurking near Aelita, Ulrich!"

"Glad to hear you fixed the computer, Jeremy!"

Odd shook his friend's shoulder. "What about the 'ReverseRatt'?"

"I can't, Odd." Jeremy ground his teeth. "I know what she's thinking and I can't allow it. If I download any program straight into her while she's being scanned I run the risk of deleting her permanently even if Aelita does reach the Tower. It's too dangerous."

The other boy grabbed Jeremy and spun him around in his chair. "_Trust her!_"

**That is _the_ most romantic thing I've heard him say yet. (sigh) Too bad Janika is in love with Ulrich. I just don't understand what that girl sees in him. I mean, _honestly_!**


	7. Termination

**2-7: Termination**

**Well, she's doing it. She'll be hero of the day. Maybe Ulrich will admit he likes her back once she proves she can be useful.**

(((-7-)))

Janika found herself in the thick of battle. The final Krab had been demolished, but a laser from one of the two remaining Ratts took Yumi out just as the dark-haired girl appeared. Ulrich sent Aelita running again and used Impact on another Ratt.

The last one hissed menacingly and turned to Janika standing there unarmed. She held up her hand as the Samurai ran toward her.

"No, Ulrich. I have to do this or else X.A.N.A. will have control of the Ratts forever." Her voice was almost too quiet, and she spoke slowly as though nothing were wrong in the world.

Ulrich stepped back and observed. She stood still as it converged on her using its quick little legs. The knee-high monster shot a laser, but Janika hardly flinched. She was completely calm.

(V)

"What is she doing?!" Odd yelled.

"The program downloaded into her acts like a sedative. She's losing lifepoints even without that Ratt's help. She probably doesn't even know she's being attacked!" Jeremy turned on his friend. "_Now_ do you understand why I didn't want to do this?"

"All I know is that _she_ knows what she's doing," he replied stubbornly.

(V)

Aelita reached the destructive Tower, disappearing inside. She walked to the center of the symbol and then floated up to the platform high above.

Ulrich watched in amazement as Janika walked toward the Ratt, intent only on its bristling, spiky form. It seemed to be confused now, staring in awe as the cheetah-like person continued to advance without any fear or revulsion. She was close. Two steps away.

It calmed, its eyes changing from furious red to a somber blue.

Lyoko's sole inhabitant placed her hand on the screen and was identified.

Janika knelt in front of the Ratt, crooning strangely. "You'll be better now."

She picked it up and held it close, the deadly spikes driving inter her body. Her lifepoints circulated down to zero and she faded from existence. Ulrich watched as the strange rodent gave a soft, contented squeak and vanished along with her.

Aelita entered the code and the past reasserted itself...

(V)

The four friends stood together in the school's courtyard. Ulrich looked at Jeremy. "What happened? She just walked over and picked the Ratt up, then they both disappeared."

Jeremy seemed detached. "The Ratts were originally her creations. Even though X.A.N.A. stole them, their programs were written by her and once they were given artificial intelligence in Lyoko, they could remember where they came from. In other words they had an affinity with Janika."

"You mean like the same affinity you and Aelita have?" Odd snickered.

He tried to disguise his flushing face with anger. "Be serious! It's not even a good analogy because I didn't create Aelita."

"Jeremy," Yumi interrupted, "he's just trying to embarrass you. Ignore him."

"R-right. Anyway, despite being controlled by X.A.N.A., they always attacked Janika when she was there because they recognized her. She took their primary program and made an opposite that would nullify all of them if they devirtualized her directly." Jeremy shook his head. "I just hope she did it in time. If Aelita put in the code before she disappeared, she might not have survived."

The gang all looked down, hoping this wasn't the end of their friend.

"Well, then I guess you'll be disappointed, because I did." Everyone turned around as Janika joined the group. "I figured you guys might need a little help later on down the road, so I stuck around. Besides, it's always fun to make you think I died and then sneak up when you guys aren't looking!"

Odd slapped his friend on her back. "Glad to have you back! Just...tone down the drama, will you?"

**How nice! Everyone survived and the world returned to normal with no bad consequences. Now what other methods of madness will X.A.N.A. come up with? Seriously. I can't think of any. I need reader-input here.**


End file.
